Brazil’s national health agency --ANVISA -- approved yesterday new rules for the registration of cannabis-based products for medicinal purposes in the country, authorizing their sale in pharmacies.
By three votes to one, the agency rejected a proposal that would endorse cultivation for research and production of medicines - which in practice will force companies to import raw materials.
Nonetheless, HempMeds, the first company to bring drugs to Brazil, saw the move as an important step, especially in reducing the cost to patients.
In an injunction of the Federal Court of the Federal District, another company also yesterday obtained authorization to import, plant and market products based on industrial hemp.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon